Just a reminder this is for software updates and information not discussion that should be done in software forum. But as to you 32 vs 64 it’s dependent on the software architure itself and the programmers to run on 32 or 64 but majority of games are built for x86 O/S but will run on x64 with some tweaking. What should matter is are you going to use a High performance GPU or onboard video or SLI that be the first thought.

As UTR says as well hardware is a factor cause if the drivers don’t exist for the 64 then you out of luck. But I currently run Win7x64 and haven’t had any problems so far running x86 programs with x64 programs but I am using x64 drivers for my GPU and mobo and hardware drivers. But also Win7 x86 vs x64 was the same price so I bought the x64 for the price cause I am going to upgrade from 4G to 8G memory when it becomes less in prices. But if you talking about XP - stay with x86 O/S as x64 XP is sparce and hard to find.

To my knowledge, at this time, not much games are really 64 bit optimised.[/QUOTE]

So true most games to my knowledge is x86 software right now. Only software that uses x64 is Adobe CS4 and x64 labeled productivity software. And some drivers made for x64 in Win7x64. Beyond that I have no problems running Office 2007 on Win7x64 so there are software that will run and work fine in a x64 O/S. But it also comes down to how much money are both x86 vs x64 same price ie in speaking terms of Win7 O/S only not other O/S. I would purchase the x64 Win7 for the money worth. Cause I am using Win7X64 Ult and was able to install and play Neverwinter Nights 2 plus Expansion without any problems because it had DirectX 11. So if your wanting the latest DirectX for game play you have to decide this as well. For my game play on NWN2 I did notice there were more enchancements to the game play as well as visual game play. So there are quite a few factors to look for as well.

[QUOTE=Mr. Belvedere;2474991]Insane amounts of raw processing power and memory!

I’m not sure. I guess it depends on a couple of things:

Is your Operating System 32 bit or 64 bit?

Is the game 32 bit or 64 bit?

Is the rest of the software and/or hardware optimised for 64 bit?

Do all of the above actually use 64 bit enhancements?

Does a game really need to be 64 bit?.[/QUOTE]

Also don’t forget to add
-DirectX 11 or DirectX 9?
-Expanded memory from 3.2G to beyond or staying at 3.2G?
-Will your O/S be still support for updates when M$ stop supporting it?
-How many people using your computer?
a. x64 better controls more people using the same computer without killing the main O/S just the user account. ie like Linux or Unix…
-Better security in x64? I think but I have to check more into this part…

[QUOTE=coolcolors;2475188]
Also don’t forget to add
-DirectX 11 or DirectX 9?[/quote] DirectX [as high as possible on the hardware video card] is better. Videocard has to be as insanely good as the rest of the system of course Remember, hardware accelleration is the key here. Every card can emulate stuff via software or their GPU. The main thing to watch is what all the hardware on the video card can.

-Expanded memory from 3.2G to beyond or staying at 3.2G?
If 32 bit go with 4 GB (3GB is addressed, but just use 2x2 for stability). If 64 bit go for 16GB or something.

-Will your O/S be still support for updates when M$ stop supporting it?
Doesn’t matter for games.

-How many people using your computer?
Does matter only when you use the system as a multiplayer host, otherwise just don’t do it.

Better security in x64? I think but I have to check more into this part…
Not applicable for gaming. Perhaps only for some online gaming.

And if you’re already investing lots of $$$ in this monster, better get 2 x SATA II 15k rpm 16mb cache disks in a RAID as well for extremely high performance. All hardware accellerated on the motherboard of course. The OS of course runs on a seperate SATA II 15k rpm disk